LTP: Finish this sentence. Northwestern wins on Saturday if they prevent __________ from ___________

MGB: Michigan’s linebackers from flowing to the ball. Given the pass offense NW has–Nebraska is NU this year, remember–if Northwestern is going to put up enough points to win it’ll have to be on the ground, and Michigan’s linebackers are flowing clean thanks to a bunch of Mattison slants. Get to them and you’ve got a chance.

Northwestern is "ranked". Michigan "isn't." Should they be? Do you like the fact that you played two still-undefeated teams in non-con play?

Mgo: No. No Big Ten teams should be ranked, and in fact anyone who votes for a Big Ten team should be put under house arrest. Indiana may go to the Big Ten championship game. QED.

I like playing ND. Check that: love playing ND. I hate those guys. I love going to Notre Dame Stadium, and am immensely depressed the series is coming to an end so ND can play Stanford for some reason. And Purdue! Come on man. They're good this year, but that series is a bedrock of my Michigan fandom.

Playing Alabama in Dallas sounded like a good idea when it was scheduled. By the time the game rolled around it was clear that it was not.

When I watch Robinson run (and the way Michigan uses him), I can't help but think his best role would be to start out as a returner and as a situational running back. He's listed at just 6'0/197 pounds, but has a thickly built lower body. The Michigan offense has taught him to make the same types of reads NFL runningbacks are taught. He's totaled over 200 carries the last two seasons, and he was the entire foundation of their run game in 2010 - totaling 256 attempts for 1702 yards (6.6 YPC) and 14 touchdowns. He has a tendency to get upright, but he's a tough and patient inside runner who reads and sets his blocks up well, hits cutback lanes with authority, and has the speed to do damage in space. …

Highlighted in green, the playside linebacker moves Michigan's tight end into the backfield. The strong safety has filled hard off the edge, and the two inside linebackers are scraping hard playside. Instead of allowing the defense to string the play out, Robinson takes advantage of Alabama's pursuit, planting his outside foot, re-directing, and hitting the crease swiftly.

Denard gets skinny through the trash in the cutback lane. He leans and squares his shoulders through the tackle, which allows him to pick up an additional three yards.

"We continue to have discussions with UConn to see if there isn't a better plan," Brandon told a small group of reporters Friday shortly after speaking at the Michigan Sport Business Conference at the Ross School of Business. "Anything's possible.

"It's totally in their control. We're trying to provide them with as much persuasion as we can, in the form of financial benefits for them to move that game to a bigger stadium."

This is not happening. The Connecticut legislature put a bunch of money into that stadium and it is now losing more money than projected; they will freak out if the Michigan game, a guaranteed sellout, is moved.

It's the right move. He's exausted all avenues except for publically tweaking UConn. Making it known that everybody EXCEPT UConn wants to move the game to a bigger venue and make more money is the only remaining way to put pressure on them to do it.

Incoming special UConn away game jerseys to make up the profit differential.

It's a crappy contract that the Skipper dropped in Brandon's lap on his way out the door. What a completely inept AD Martin was.

Publicly tweaking UConn and their Michigan alum athletic director is not going to get the game moved because it's not going to change UConn's political situation. So why do it? I mean, this has come up a half dozen times in the last year without any movement.

When someone asks you just say "we'll fulfill the contract" and move on instead of having to impress everyone with how meaty your meat is.

If DB wants to move the game, he presumably has the $ and negotiating leverage to do so--especially if it is a State on the other side of the negotiation. In the current economy, is it responsible for CT State officials to turn down a profit-multiplier, should Brandon actually offer it? Are they just waiting until closer to the UCONN season ticket sale deadline to announce it, so as to minimize the length of the Manuel pinata session?

Considering UCONN's 2014 schedule looks wide open (from the googles, anyhow), I'd be pleased if the real plan is for Brandon to give ND the "yeah, screw you back" handshake on Sept.1, 2013, pay ND the penalty for cancelling the 2014 game 1 year out, and announce later that day that UCONN will receive ANOTHER $1 million check for playing at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 6, 2014.

Reward Warde with two big paydays, stick it to ND (making them scramble for a quality opponent), and add another home game in 2014? Sounds like a good deal all-around. . .except for the CT-based scalpers who will be denied the opportunity to make a fortune shoehorning Michigan's fans into a 40,000 seat stadium.

Regardless of the payment from Giants Stadium, moving the game out of state is not a profit multiplier for the local merchants and hoteliers near the stadium, however, nor is it one for state sales tax revenue if the game is held outside the state. I assume those are the economic stakeholders that the Conn. state leg is concerned about.

Guessing there's some heat coming from people DB feels need to know their will is being well represented. If it means making a small Big East school look like a small Big East school in the process, so be it.

I don't know that it's that crappy of a contract, either. Remember the circumstances that surrounded that game. We needed a BCS team to agree to a game at UM on short notice for the stadium rededication. IIRC, it was less than a year before the game when the home-and-home was agreed to. They were kind enough to bring in a team that seemed good at the time but was actually not so good (though they did, because of the wretched quality of the Big East, make a BCS game) and Denard ran for a billion yards, the GERG defense actually stopped someone, and a good time was had by all.

It's not like Rentschler is some great venue (it's not on campus and is located, basically, amidst suburban big box stores and office parks), but the alternatives are soulless hulks in their own right. It's not like the UM AD gets the money from the away game anyway. He should just leave it alone.

I'm not an expert but that Trouba hit looked really bad...and unnecessary. The Northern player just is really short which is why he got drilled so bad but it just seemed totally unnecessary. If you know you're gonna rock someone like that, maybe pull up a little?

is that he was looking to rock someone. Had he made the smart hockey play, odds are that Seckel gets laid out, Trouba/M gets the puck and he doesn't end up with a five minute major and a game disqualification. Instead he wanted to be on the highlight reel and this is the result.

That said, he's a freshman and that mentality is really common in younger players. Even clean players can make dirty hits at times (Hagelin in the playoffs this year), and as long as this is a learning experience, it's nothing we shouldn't all move past when we see him next on Saturday night.

Eh, I think it could've been a decent hit. It's definitely a penalty, but I only think he got thrown out because the aftermath was pretty bad. Kid has to keep his head up. Maybe it should be punished to protect against injuries, as I wouldn't want kids to get hurt like this one did, but that's why they taught us to keep our damn heads up when we weren't even old enough to hit yet.

Sidenote: someone on that video commented that he would sit out 2 more games if Red weren't his coach. Is it just me or does NMU hockey have an even stronger one-way hatred for Michigan than any irrelevant football program ever could? It's ridiculous. Their radio announcers make me grind my teeth. And Red sat Merrill for half a season for unpublic reasons and keeps kids accountable, so that's just bullshit. /rant

I disagree. I think he's looking out for the best financial interests of the school that employs him. MWolverine said it best in the Brandon thread (and I'm paraphrasing) "we like nice things and nice things cost money. I'd rather have someone else rather than season ticket holders pay for them if given the choice."

Fair enough, but what he's doing here is giving the impression that he did the deal with the game at Rentschler Field just to get a deal done, with the assumption in his head that he would later on bribe UConn to move the game. If he could he'd be all "I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further." If it's in our best interests to have the game at a neutral site, then do that at first and don't try to strong-arm the other party into a change.

I'm not going to the game either way, but I'd rather see college sporting events held on college campuses, so I hope the game is played at UConn rather than in an NFL stadium.

But I don't think I'd characterize this as "strongarming." Brandon's offering them a pile of cash, not invading Poland. If they decide there's more upside for them to play at home, they'll do that. If they think the deal's better for them to move the game, then they'll do that. If he's saying move the game or we're canceling, that's another story. But I don't see that as what's going on.

And if Brian's right about the state blocking the move, then all this is moot.

IME, having a private conversation with the UConn people = offering them a pile of cash. Taking it public = strongarming. johnvand even kind of admitted it above even while arguing the opposite side. Taking it public in order to put pressure on the other side so our giant McDuck pile of money can become a slightly, marginally larger McDuck pile of money is not cool. I don't like what DB is doing here.

am not comfortable with the idea that the AD's foremost job is to look out for the financial interests of the athletic department. In certain circumstances, sure. But the AD is profitable. And it will still be profitable if Michigan plays this game at UConn. And, goddammit, at least some of this is supposed to be about atmosphere and fun and something other than a soulless grab for the most dollars.

There is no argument that the Big 10 was really bad to start the season. A bunch of key losses to the NFL and coaching changes will undoubtedly cause that to happen. Since conference play, there is no doubt that the Big 10 is most likely the 3rd best conference. I have watched teams from all conferences play each other, and I will admit this eye test is subjective, but it's a good approximation of conference strength in my opinion.

We'll see how things play out near the end of the season, but I actually believe the whole "Big 10 is terrible" meme might be a blessing in disguise, now that I think about it. We have always been matched up with better teams in bowl season, but come this bowl season, I could see us winning 4 out of our 5 bowl games. (Interesting scenario - NEB, WISC, or UM in the Rose Bowl vs. Oregon State, I have a hard time seeing any of them lose to Oregon State who beat a terrible at the time Wisconsin team 9-7. )

I am absolutely 100% certain that if we dressed up the man making DB's decisions as Bo or another legendary figure that nobody - absolutely nobody - would be chastizing each and every one of his decisions.

This stigma of Brandon as a money hungry capitalist is getting old. He is hands down the best AD in the Big Ten and I'd argue that he is top 3 nationally. Glass houses, stones, and all that jazz apply.

It seems like some of Brandon's harshest critics here were also mad about the coaching change. I remember reading this site in Brandon's first year, and it didn't seem like anyone had a problem with him. Then he fired Rich Rod and suddenly people were angry at everything he did. A lot of them have since become reconciled to having Hoke as the coach, but still can't seem to get over their initial anger (which is now displaced toward Brandon's financial moves).

Thinks of the their conference getting screwed in the new bowl system?

Would this push them out of the Big 12 to another conference, or to be independant? After this year with what looks like is about to unfold with ND being left out, I cant imagine any other school thinking that would be the best way to go.

Maximizing revenue (ie apex of price X volume) is the stated reason in the short term - but I would wager the core issue is equity impressions. DB wants big events so the UM brand is always associated with equity attributes like premium experience, among the best, highest quality, etc. He'll "pay" UConn for a big event over a game that almost feels like a Patriot League mis-match.

I read that piece on Lloyd Brady and it was a nice article, but mostly stuff I already knew. Does anyone else think that MR is just a half-step behind with these types of articles? Maybe 8 steps? Cool that Lloyd gets some attention outside of the Blog, but...